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At the beginning of each week, we highlight our favorite CFB bets so that you can get in early and lock in the best possible odds. This companion piece will drop each Friday, and I will talk about some advantageous parlays you can consider and the reasons why I favor them so much. These could be as simple as picking a side and the total of a single game, or stringing together a couple of games into the same parlay. I’m also always digging into the prop market to find you any soft numbers that we can exploit.
I’ve identified two parlays that I think are worth jumping on this week. Week 9 offers some really intriguing matchups, and I’m excited to share with you guys my favorite parlays.
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Iowa State Cyclones
(Oklahoma -1, O/U 56.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)
We have been targeting against Oklahoma in DFS and the betting market for over a month now, and it’s almost unbelievable at this point that we would get a fairly solid Iowa State squad as a home dog against them. The Sooner defense is giving up over 200 ypg on the ground and just under 250 ypg through the air. They’ve also given up at least 42 points to their opponents in their last four games. Things definitely won’t change in Ames this weekend.
Cyclones QB Hunter Dekkers is playing with a lot of confidence after throwing for over 300 yards against Texas, and his chemistry with alpha WR Xavier Hutchinson is amazing, which should lead to multiple big plays in this matchup. The Cyclones defense has a bend but don’t break feel to it, but Dillon Gabriel being back in the mix for the Sooners should inevitably lead to a lot of points being scored, so the meager 56.5 points feels way too low. The totals have gone over in two of the Cyclones’ last four home games.
Best Bet: Single Game Parlay – Iowa State ML (-105) & Over 56.5 (-110) – Combined +272
Tank Bigsby Rushing Yardage Prop and Zach Charbonnet Rushing Yardage Prop
(Tank Bigsby 62.5 Rushing Yards and Zach Charbonnet 114.5 Rushing Yards)
Let’s face it, Tank Bigsby hasn’t had the season we all expected, but he is clearly still a capable back and proved he still has it by rushing for 179 yards against Ole Miss. The matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks is fantastic for running backs, especially in conference play. Dillon Johnson (89/2), Jo Marks (52/1), Jahmyr Gibbs (206/2) and Devon Achane (105/1) have all had their way with the Hogs’ front. Johnson and Marks are in a committee, so those numbers are far more impressive than they look initially. I’m buying the resurgence of Bigsby and will gladly ride the over 62.5 prop he has on DraftKings.
The Bruins stumbled last week in their loss to Oregon but will look to get back on track against the injury-riddled Stanford Cardinal. The fact they are missing their top 3 skill position players on offense means they’ll probably have trouble generating much offense. Once UCLA builds a lead, they’ll just turn things over to Charbonnet by feeding him often to run the clock out.
He has thrived in all game scripts, whether they’re close or blowouts. He rushed for 151 yards on 20 carries against Oregon, 198 yards on 22 carries against Utah, 124 yards on 22 carries against Washington and 104 yards on only nine carries against Colorado. There is slight blowout concern where they could yank him early, but this feels like a game where he is going to gain chunk yardage throughout. I will be totally shocked if he doesn’t coast into the 120-125 range at minimum.
Best Bet: Tank Bigsby OVER 62.5 Rushing Yards (-105) and Zach Charbonnet OVER 114.5 Rushing Yards (-115) – Combined +249